Hawai‘i’s Senior Yakitori Master Has Opened His Own Restaurant

Not much has changed at Yakitori Ando since this post originally appeared in 2018—only now the wait for a reservation is about two months.

Editor’s note: Not much has changed at Yakitori Ando since this widely viewed post was published in November 2018. Ando’s yakitori and motsunabe are still excellent and the place is still BYOB. Two notable updates: Prices are $70 for omakase yakitori followed by motsunabe hot pot and “about” $50 for yakitori only. This has also become one of the most-booked spots in Honolulu. We called on Sept. 21 about a reservation for 4 people—the next available counter seating was Nov. 28 and the next available table was in December.

If you’ve eaten yakitori in Honolulu in the past two decades, odds are you’ve seen him and noticed his fashionable eyewear. Takashi Ando, or Anchan as he’s known to his regular customers, is the city’s senior yakitori master, although he won’t admit it. After grilling chicken skewers at other restaurants for the past 25 years, Ando now has a place of his own.

But first, a history this long deserves some backstory. My love affair with skewered meats started in college at Kohnotori, where Ando presided over the grill. The tiny restaurant on South King Street next to Imanas Tei was where I discovered sticks of juicy bonjiri (chicken tail) and crisp kawa (chicken skin), perfectly seasoned and expertly grilled. There wasn’t a meal I craved as much as yakitori and a cold glass of draft beer.

Ando grills up skewers of nankotsu, or chicken cartilage. Photo: Thomas Obungen

I would find a seat, fill out a paper order form with a golf pencil, then wait as skewers bearing all parts of the chicken sizzled to brown deliciousness right in front of me. I watched as Ando jockeyed with the heat of the binchotan charcoal grill, twisting and shuffling dozens of skewers. The visceral experience is seared into my food memory.

Sometime over the years, Ando mastered Hakata-style motsunabe, a hearty hot pot meal with melting tendon-like fatty beef offal, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, tofu and chives in a rich, peppery broth. Fast-forward to a rainy night earlier this year. Ando and Kohnotori had moved to a new location on Piikoi Street. A group of us went there in search of motsunabe, only to find it had shuttered. Ando was gone—yakitori, motsunabe and all.

Ando loads a nabe pot with motsu, fatty beef offal that melts into the peppery broth. Photo: Thomas Obungen

Then in September, an intrepid Frolic reader tipped us off about a new yakitori bar opening in the old Country Shave Ice spot on Center Street behind Bank of Hawai‘i’s Kaimukī branch. We promptly booked a reservation. Ando was back!

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Now, after several visits, I’ve finally figured out the Yakitori Ando system:

1. Advance reservations are mandatory (parties of six or less are ideal)
2. Bring your own booze (and some for Ando too—he likes sweet potato shochu)
3. Bring cash (and don’t forget the gratuity)
4. Omakase only—there is no menu, so you eat what Ando cooks
5. If you want motsunabe, request it early in the meal or by phone in advance

Motsu, tofu, chive, cabbage, mushrooms and gobo in a peppery broth rich with melted collagen. Photo: Thomas Obungen

Once you’re settled in (I prefer the counter, but tables will accommodate larger parties) and your glass of BYOB sake or sweet potato shochu is full, the meal begins with a refreshing butashabu salad: thin pork served over baby mesclun greens with a gingery soy dressing. Kim chee, edamame, simmered hijiki seaweed and gobo kinpira (braised burdock root) also begin arriving on little dishes—items to keep you occupied while Ando grills the main attraction.

The sozai sides vary, but the butashabu salad with poached pork (center) was always the first course. Gobo kinpira (left) and spicy hamachi poke (right) were well executed. Photo: Thomas Obungen

Note: There are days when he has one helper, other times he has two. Service will vary, but your water will be topped off and food will keep coming.

The beauty of sharing is that you get to try more! Beautiful BYOB imo (sweet potato) shochu—two made here in Hawai‘i (Namihana No. 10 and Namihana Sushi Sho limited) and two from Kagoshima, Japan, home of sweet potato shochu (Mayuko Sweet and Akane Kirishima). Photo: Thomas Obungen

Ando’s omakase (chef’s choice) pace ensures each skewer is served hot and without much lag time in between. Textures alternate (tender, crunchy, chewy), as do seasonings (salted or sauced) and cuts of chicken (minced sausage, offal, dark meat) to keep your palate entertained. In total, expect as many as 10 skewers ranging from tebasaki (chicken wings) to bacon-wrapped asparagus and chicken hearts, which are the best I’ve had. Non-chicken skewers can include grilled Kaua‘i shrimp or bacon-wrapped items like mushrooms, quail eggs and cherry tomatoes.

You’ll be particularly lucky if you happen to have a stick of bonjiri, flavorful chicken tails cut with a bit of cartilage so they’re both tender and crunchy. Same goes for the fluffy tsukune meatballs, flecked with minced onion and awash in tare sauce. I’ve heard the yaki onigiri is also a hit, but I’ve never made it to that point after indulging in a bubbling pot of motsunabe.

Ando says he expects his liquor license hearing early next year, but who knows? Until then, it’s BYOB and omakase. At Yakitori Ando, I don’t think I’d prefer it any other way.

Reservations only, 1215 Center St., closed Wednesday, (808) 739-5702, @yakitoriando